Friday, July 11, 2008

I enjoyed yesterday's reuben sandwich so much I decided to try my hand at making my own. Fantastic success! The vegan corned beef turned out far better than expected. But first, I had to find out exactly what corned beef is. How can corn be an adjective? As it turns out, the corn in this case refers to the large grain salt used to cure beef brisket. The whole process takes about 10 days. Well, this version takes only one hour and tastes fabulous. The key is the seasoned salt and the smoked paprika. If you don't have smoked paprika, use regular paprika and add a few drops of liquid smoke.

1. "Butter" two slices of bread (like you are doing a grilled cheese sandwich). Slather some dressing on a piece of bread and top with corned beef. Top that with some sauerkraut and cheese (if using). Top with more corned beef, dressing, and the top piece of bread.

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Vegan Dad~ You are one of my inspirations to start a vegan blog. I am not a cook like you (very few are!) but I would love it if you would check out my link. I think you could find it at the least amusing and entertaining with some easy meal ideas. It would be an honor! http://veganview.blogspot.com/

I am so anxious to try this! But, I don't have a steamer (in fact, I don't know what that is except for the little metal flower you put in a pot to steam veggies). Could this be baked or some other substitution? Thank you!

Wow. This looks great and very do-able. I just want to tell you that, thanks largely to your blog, I have not purchased any Boca or Morningstar Farms meat analogs in months. Your recipes are so delicious and useful! I hope that you continue to have an enjoyable trip. Thanks for blogging all the way through it. :0)

I was definitely a pastrami & corned beef lover (in the past) & would love to try this recipe. I don't have juniper berries; they sound good but I don't remember seeing them at the market or Trader Joes... maybe Whole Foods carries them?? Maybe I'll omit them as they are optional. You're getting to be a real pro at devising "faux meat" recipes. And that's really inspiring!

I once made a tempeh reuben that was the bomb and since my fear of seitan (that sounds a little funny)I think I would go that route again. I will have to do it up sometime. I really liked it. I think I got it from Vegan with a Vengeance.

endearing,You can buy an electric steamer (they are usually plastic, have a water resevoir, a perforated steaming tray, and a lid), but I just use the perforated insert that came with my stock pot. Or, you can get a bamboo steamer and use it with your wok. I'm sure you could bake this as well (around 325-350) for about 1 hour, but it will come out drier than the steamed version.

On another topic, I was thinking that your cookbook should be a pretty Blurb book. http://www.blurb.com(No, I don't work for the company.) But Blurb looks like a good product that would showcase your pretty photos.

hi there!your recipes and pictures always make my mouth water!one thing i was wondering is - how many servings would you say this loaf of seitan makes? that way i can plan ahead...i've had good luck with freezing leftover seitan, too...mmmm reubens....

vegan dad,you amaze me! i am yet to try your sandwich meat recipe, but i am excited to try this! i used to work at a deli & had my own version of a reuben & one of the things i did was to add steamed/grilled onions to it--yummy!

Vegan Dad, I am so glad you posted this! I've been wanting to make a homemade vegan reuben for ever and ever since I tried a few at some vegetarian restaurants. Your picture is awesome too; looks delicious!

My boyfriend is going to fall in love with you after eating this :) I plan on making it soon, Rubens are his favorite sandwich of all time. I buy Worthington Corned Beef, but it's not vegan and would prefer something that is. Thanks for sharing!

I made these tonight. They were phenomenal. I have never made seitan before and this was so simple. Just steam and forget about it for about an hour. I had two sandwiches and felt utterly satisfied with every bite. Thanks, Vegan Dad!

The recipe came out perfectly and that was the problem: my vege family of four years couldn't eat it because we all agreed it was WAY too close to the texture, taste, appearance and smell of meat. This is despite liking mock meat products such as crumbed schnitzel which we eat regularly.

Today I bought some chutney and pickles to see how close it came to what I remembered as a 'corned beef and pickles (or chutney)' sandwich and it was so close it was scary.

Anyway, the wife and children have said it's not something they would like to try again.

I don't know what happened, but this turned out horribly for me. It smelled exactly like that Smart Bacon (which is just wrong when making a reuben) and it turned out very rubbery. I looked like I could have bounced it on the floor a few times. I baked it cause I don't have steaming equipment, but I don't think that was the problem. Once again, a recipe using wheat gluten fails. I'm gonna stick with my labor-intensive method of washing wheat flour and simmering for 2 hours. *sigh*

Auntie Cake,I think the Smart Bacon problem can be solved by using less smoked paprika, or just regular paprika. The seasonings are up to you, really--these are just my suggestions. As for the rubber texture, I have found that these seitan creations need to be gently steamed. Too hot too fast leads to rubber. Adjust the cooking time and temp. As for baking, I would be inclined to "steam bake" it: http://vegandad.blogspot.com/2008/10/on-steaming-seitan-in-oven.html

I made the corned beef recipe last night and made corned beef hash with it. Just chopped it up into uneven small pieces and fried it up with some salt, pepper, horseradish and onions. Oh my it was heaven. Not exactly like I remember the meat version (it's been years so...), but very yummy. My husband declared just a few minutes ago as he was eating the leftovers, "This is even better cold the next day!"

Thank you so much for all your recipes (and your cookbook!). I know that when I try a new one from you that we will almost definitely love the finished product!

we made these tonight - it was my first attempt at seitan - it was so easy! and tastes great! However it was also my first time trying sauerkraut and will be my last. I enjoyed my sandwich with just the sauce :)

Today, I tried a new variation after reading a post by "Zoa" at The Airy Way.

When making a seitan recipe from "The Real Food Daily" cookbook, she replaced the cannellini beans with OKARA!!

I'm always looking for ways to use up okara, since I make both soymilk and tofu. I replaced the 1/2 cup of garbanzos with the amount of okara from one batch of soymilk (approximately 3/4 cup). I was going to just use 1/2 cup to equal the volume of garbanzos, but since the object was to use up the okara, I figured I'd see what happens when I use the entire amount.

Zoa mentioned that she dried the okara before using it. Not wanting to put in that much time, I just wrung it out in cheesecloth really, really well, so that the end result was an only mildly damp glop of okara that had no moisture visible at all.

I used a blender to puree the water, okara, and juniper berries (saved the work of crushing them to a powder). After letting the blender run on high for a couple minutes, I then dumped in all the spices and once mixed, poured all that into the vital wheat gluten in the food processor to mix into a dough.

My recommendation for folks that have okara to use up is to substitute it in any seitan recipe that calls for beans or chickpea flour. Just be sure to wring it out in cheesecloth so it is as completely dry as possible.

Well ... the end result was perfect! I noticed no change in the end product from other times I've made this recipe.

Love your blog, but this just didn't work out for me. I have never steamed seitan before, but I did and it seemed so soggy that I baked it with the same glaze I used to use on corned beef. It was still very damp and bready. Now we were using this as part of a St Paddy's dinner, not on Reubens. I'll slice up the leftovers for sandwiches tomorrow and see how that goes.

I think your blog (and you) are pretty amazing. Though I have been vegan for 11 years, I have not really cooked anything away from simple. I would love to try this. When steaming, do you cover the pot or do you open steam it? I will definitely report back after I give this a go. Attempted seitan once by boiling it. Gave it to the neighborhood kids playing hockey to use as pucks;)Thank you for sharing all your amazing hard work with us.

Frustrated!! I steamed it but the seitan feels awfully soft after it came out! I expected it to be tougher and resemble meat. Also, in one of the comments you mentioned baking it? Are we baking or steaming it?

Wow, this is awesome! I omitted the juniper berries and added a bit of extra onion and garlic powders. I didn't anticipate it would firm up so significantly when cooled, so I cooked mine the full hour but would go with 45 minutes next time for a softer texture. The seasoning is spot-on for corned beef. Have loved eating this on sandwiches, and also have used it to top pizzas. Thanks so much!

I made this today for St. Patrick's Day and it really defied my expectations. So so good! Thanks for the fabulous recipe! Oh and I used pinto beans because I had some in the fridge that needed to get used. Next time I'll try with chickpeas.